Robotech/Yotsuba Vol. 6/Hetalia - Axis Powers

What’s up anidorks? Yes, once again I’ve been sadly remiss in updating you on the latest and greatest in tsundere trivia, harem comedy reviews, and hikikomori references. Sadly, work and personal issues have conspired to eat my frickin’ brain and thus prevent me from usual my usual 60+ hours of anime and manga viewing per week. Why, a family situation even prevented me from attending the New York Anime Fest, thus depriving me of my two greatest joys: inexpensive remaindered manga and fatties doing cosplay. Har har.

Joking aside, I’ve honestly had a lot going on, and when that happens, the first casualty is inevitably this blog. Things have finally slowed down a bit, so I found time to cram in a few simple joys: Harmony Gold’s iconic Robotech, Yen Press’s Yotsuba vol.6, and the confusing yet appealing Hetalia – Axis Powers. So I’m going to do an extra long entry today to make up for my lack of updates since, oh, August.

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I’m not going to torture you with the plot outline of Robotech, as I’m sure any anime dork worth his figurines knows it already: Mysterious spaceship falls to earth, aliens attack, and your usual-reluctant-but-talented-spiky-haired-guy becomes ace fighter/mech pilot. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, Robotech was my “starter” anime series - so to purchase the DVD set and sit down to watch it was a highly nostalgic experience; it almost made me wish I could go back to being a chubby ten-year old with a mullet and no friends for the duration of the viewing in order to make even more authentic (actually, it didn’t).

I’m happy to say, in many ways, Robotech still holds up: the storyline, albeit clichéd, is still tightly paced and filler-free, the interpersonal relationships are realistic, the dialog and voice acting is decent, and the numerous action scenes do well to drive the plot…..but sweet baby Jesus, the animation itself is skin-crawlingly HORRIBLE. Faces are misshapen, uniforms and vehicles change colors from scene to scene, and overall the art is sloppy, rushed, and half-assed. If you’re used to the crisp, vibrant style of modern anime, it’s going to be a difficult transition - and the usual bonuses of hand-drawn anime (warm, deep color and expressionistic form) are hard to notice.

Still, if you can forgive its lack of visual perfection, Robotech is easily and deservingly a classic; it’s a shame that Macross (the anime from which Robotech was adapted) was never resolved. And, without sounding like a scold, it’s nice to watch a series that has such a low moe/fanservice element.

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Like most living and breathing otaku, I’ve been anxiously awaiting Yotsuba 6 from Yen Press. As you may know, ADV (publisher of volumes 1 – 5) has pretty much tanked so it was looking like this popular series was a lost cause in print until up-and-coming publisher Yen Press took it over. Yen does a fine job with translation; although I don’t like they way Yen makes Yotsuba refer to herself in the third person, it’s a minor factor (and probably more faithful to Japanese grammar). So what is everyone’s favorite green-haired 5 year old up to these days, dare you ask? Yotsuba gets a bike, drinks milk, and then gets on her bike to bring milk to Fuka at her high school. Yes, it doesn’t seem like much on paper but Azuma has the rare genius for taking mundane situations and evaluating them to high comedy. Highly recommended.

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One of the joys of anime is the fact that it’s willing to take chances, and Hetalia – Axis Powers is one hell of a screwball. A weird comedy/history mutant, it takes all the countries involved in WWII – Japan, England, Germany, the USA, etc – and personifying them in order to play out the epic conflict and other instances in world history as zany slapstick comedy: Italy begs Germany to be his friend, Italy and Germany try to befriend the standoffish Japan, England and America argue about how to help France after he gets beaten up by Germany, and so forth. It’s pretty funny and very politically incorrect (Italy is depicted as a pasta-scarfing wimp, Germany as an uptight jerk, Japan as a stuffy hermit, America as an energetic but deluded know-it-all, etc.) but man, I don’t really know how the animators are gonna spin the Holocaust, the Siege of Leningrad, the Rape of Nanking, Hiroshima, etc, as something to chuckle at.

The adventurous might want to give it a try because it does have some genuinely funny parts – the humor poking fun at the individual countries is pretty dead on – but do be warned it plays it pretty fast and loose with history.

ANIME REVIEW: Parallel Dual

What up anidorks? Once again, personal and work issues have conspired to keep me paying closer attention to my danged email than to the Groundhog Day parody that’s been passing for the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, har har. Still, I have found time to catch a half-baked but not half-bad 90’s mech series: Parallel Dual.

Young Kazuki is deeply troubled by the visions of mech warfare that periodically flash in front of his eyes, a habit that makes him the subject of ridicule in his high school. But when Mitsuki - the prettiest girl in school - invites him home, he finds out his visions aren’t as weird as he though - Mitsuki’s eccentric scientist father Sanada is convinced Kazuki is somehow seeing into an alternate reality.

Naturally, the only solution is to send him there to see if it’s true...and Kazuki, the unwilling test subject, now finds himself in an alternate reality where Sanada commands a squadron of mechs, Mitsuki is a mech pilot, and the mech warfare he’s always feared is an actuality, as Sanada, Mitsuki, and their mechs are the last line of defense against the evil Rara Army's plans to take over Japan. Naturally, Kazuki is drawn into the conflict, and finds himself commanding a mech against a series of increasingly dangerous mech foes.

Pretty rote plot, I know…but the appeal of Parallel Dual is less about it’s pedestrian plot and more for the fact it’s note-by-note parody/satire/rip-off of Neon Genesis Evangelion:

• Crybaby boy pilot? Check.
• Pony-tailed tsundere pilot? Check.
• Spacey girl pilot? Check.
• Doting yet sexy commander/teacher/mother figure? Check.
• Eccentric and bespectacled scientist commander? Check.
• Lithe, stylized mechs fighting monstrous foes? Check.
• Heavy Freudian and biblical allegories? Um….

I have to say that I actually started to enjoy PD’s ramshackle tribute to NGE after a while; hell, there are far worse sources to steal from than NGE. Sure, the plot is pedestrian and predictable, but I found that to be almost reassuring; sometimes the formula is a formula for a reason. Artwise, it’s a mish-mash of styles: NGE-style mechs with characters that look like extras from Tenchi Muyo; likewise, I have to give the creators credit for stealing from the best.

All in all, Parallel Dual hardly wins on style or originality… but once you get used to the lightweight parody that it is, I think you’ll agree that the series actually isn’t half bad (although I'm sure hardcore Neon Genesis fans will be horrified by the blasphemy). There are far better series out there, but Parallel Dual is a fine diversion. I’ll give this one a solid C+.

Manga Review: Gundam: The Origin, Vol 10 by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko

Ah, Mobile Suit Gundam…after Robotech/Macross, this is one of my favorite “classic” Anime/Manga series - so coming across this book on the shelves of the Cypress Hills branch was a special treat. I’m a little rusty on my “Universal Century” history, but this appears to be close to the original’s plot – Earth Federation’s White Base starship battles rebellious space colony “Principality of Zeon” (with my main man Char!) across Earth and space to protect it’s cargo: the secret super-weapon, the Mobile Suit Gundam. Will White Base be forced to use the experimental weapon to protect itself from Zeon’s marauding Mobile Suits? (Hint: hell to the yes!)

The ink-heavy, thick-lined art is very “old school”, very “rounded-off” in that classic 70’s style, made all the more surprising due to the fact it came out in 2003; due to the art style and the subject, I had originally though that I was dealing with a modern reprint of a 70’s/80’s comic! There’s heavy use of screentones, and the colored introductions are painted with water color (to good effect, I might add – I wish more artists used watercolors in comics). At times, the art resembles “western comics”, with characters that have less stylized features than many mangas, as well as fight sequences that have little of the ever-popular “action lines”.

So what do we got going on in this volume, eh? As the White Base heads over South America, Amuro and the rest of the crew are confronted by a Zeon detachment. Despite his best efforts, Amuro is soundly defeated by the nefarious and skillful Lt. Ranba Ral, and only the intervention of a fellow crewmember can save him. Racked with shame and angry at the rumors he’s to be replaced as lead Gundam pilot, Amuro flees with the Gundam into the countryside. After hiding the giant Mech, he enters a nearly deserted town in search of food and water only to be confronted by Lt. Ral himself!

Anime Review: Martian Successor Nadesico

A wayward starship, a mysterious and reluctant hero, gruesome aliens, and mechs galore…so what does Martian Successor Nadesico have that other space operas like Robotech or Gundam don’t have? Namely, a sense of humor about itself, an offbeat cast of characters, and whole lotta cheesecake (i.e. pretty girls).

Former mech pilot (and current fry cook) Akito Tenkawa joins the crew of the Nadesico, a privately owned starship created to defeat the “Jovian Lizards”, a cruel race of aliens from Jupiter that are determined to invade Earth. Young Akito is equally as determined to remain a fry cook, watch his favorite anime Gekiganger III, and avoid the danger of piloting a mech…but when another pilot injures himself, Akito himself pressed into service. And to make matters worse, the ditzy captain of the Nadesico is none other than his childhood girlfriend Yurika Misamune….who’s still madly in love with Akito and can’t stop throwing herself at him!

Like Full Metal Panic! FUMOFFU, Martian Successor Nadesico is a blend of killer action and hilarious romantic comedy; the interaction between Akito and Yurika is very funny (and embarrassing), and the members of the supporting cast all have unique personalities that make them memorable as well. The “anime with an anime” Gekiganger III is a great backhanded tribute to Mazinger Z, Voltron, and all those other 1970s “giant robot” series that I (and all the other children of the 70’s, hahaha) grew up watching.

This series is over 11 years old, so the animation can seem a little dated at times; aside from that, this is a great series that can appeal to both younger viewers (who’ll love the action and comedy) and older viewers (who’ll dig all the in-jokes) too.

REVIEW: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed – Vols 2 and 3

With a wayward starship, a reluctant young hero, and hardcore Mech-on-Mech action up the wazoo, MSGS seems built on the sturdy Robotech-style (or Macross for you purists) Space Opera foundation. Actually, MSGS has more political intrigue, as it continues the “classic” Gundam story of the earth-dwelling humans (Earth Alliance) against vaguely fascist space station dwelling humans (The Zaft), with neutral nations being drawn into the escalating conflict, and less romance (or at least, overt romance), so that’s refreshing at least.

What’s not refreshing is the character design – the Protagonist (Kira Yamoto, the afore-mentioned Reluctant Young Hero fighting for the Earth Alliance) and the Antagonist (Athrun, his childhood best friend now conveniently the top ace for the Zaft) look bloody identical – I had to rely on looking for the part in Athrun’s hair for me to tell who’s who! And to make it worse, their Mechs are nearly identical as well, making battle scene increasing hard to follow. Still, the artwork is excellent, and the sharp, crisp lines, excellent depiction of action, and detailed Mechs make up for the goofy character design.

Anyhoo….in these 2 volumes, the Earth Alliance’s Archangel starship picks up a valuable political hostage while scavenging for supplies. On orders to return to Earth, they find themselves struggling with the Zaft in the N. African desert, and only a rag-tag group of desert-dwelling rebels can help them win. Surviving with heavy damage, they find themselves at the mercy of the neutral nation of Aube – who demand the technical data for the Archangel and all it’s Mechs!